Valentine's Day
by caromal
Summary: What does Valentine's Day 2011 bring for Zac and Vanessa when they are forced apart by work commitments?


**Since Valentine's Day is kind of coming up, I decided to write this story. I'm still deciding if I'm going to update "Letting Go". I probably will eventually, but I really hate writing sad things! This is a Zanessa fluff story, unlike "Letting Go". Hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own anything.**

It was the first Valentine's Day they had spent apart.

Vanessa stared at the words on her iPhone. She read, re read, and re read them again, imagining his voice whispering them softly to her, making them sound more intimate than how they looked in the harsh font on her phone screen. She knew how they would have spent this Valentine's Day. His warm breath on her earlobe would peacefully wake her up in the morning, and she would find his arms wrapped securely around her. She would feel _safe_ and _loved_. Throughout the day he would keep reminding her of how much he loved her and how thankful he was to have her in his life. They would spend the day together, and eventually the night. And right before she would drift off to sleep back in his arms, his warm breath would return to her ear, wishing her sweet dreams. It would be a simple Valentine's Day, but it would be perfect for them. As long as they were together, nothing would go wrong.

"Vanessa, we need you again."

Vanessa sighed and set down her phone. She knew the tears that stung in her eyes were ridiculous, but she couldn't help but feel like the only person in the world who was alone on Valentine's Day. She swallowed the threatening lump in her throat and walked back on to the set of her movie _Journey Two_. She tried to ignore fact that she was supposed to be done filming two weeks earlier. She tried to forget that her director had decided to give them a two week break at the beginning of February instead of not taking a break and finishing the movie two weeks prior to Valentine's Day. She couldn't even see Zac during the two weeks she had off, for he was filming his _own_ movie.

"Vanessa, now please."

Vanessa walked back over to set, not even bothering to flash a fake smile to her director and cast mates. She was met a few feet away from the cameras by Josh, who gave her a look of sympathy.

"Anything today?"

Vanessa inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Three words." She lifted up an individual finger as she counted the words. "Happy, valentines, and day." She bit back tears as Josh wrapped an arm around her.

"Not even an 'I love you' or anything?" he squeezed her shoulder supportively as he noticed the glistening in her eyes. Vanessa shook her head.

"No."

Josh frowned. "I'm sure he's just busy." He watched as Vanessa shrugged half-heartedly. "He loves you, Vanessa."

She couldn't help but let a tear escape. "I think this might be it."

Josh's eyes widened. "Wh-what do you mean?" His words were frantic as Vanessa lifted her hands up and dropped them helplessly, as if she was looking for an answer but failed to find one.

"Our relationship has faced so much distance," she wiped another tear. "And I think everything is finally starting to take a toll on it." A few more hot tears fell before she feverishly wiped them away. Her makeup artist would not be impressed with her.

Josh shook his head. "Vanessa, you can't be giving up."

Biting her lip, Vanessa replied: "No, no I'm not giving up…" She trailed off as her eyes flickered to her phone in the distance. She tried to convince herself that she was crazy to think that she and Zac's relationship had been affected by the distance. But she wasn't crazy. She wasn't imagining that their phone calls were becoming fewer each day, to the point where one day, they didn't speak at all. It wasn't like Vanessa didn't try, though. She called him every morning, afternoon, and evening. She would be lucky to catch him even one of those three times. With each sound of Zac's voicemail, she was slowly starting to face the facts: He was taking less time to think of their relationship and more time focusing on work. Their relationship had faced distance many times before, but they had always come out stronger because of it. What scared Vanessa was the thought that they wouldn't come out stronger this time.

* * *

"You see, there's no way we're going to see each other at _all_ in July, and August isn't going to be much better…"

Josh shook his head as he took a bite of his sandwich. "There's got to be a loophole or something. A random week or two where you guys can just be together…" he clicked the computer screen and scrolled down the long list of movie filming, events and promotions. He moved his right hand over to the backspace button and searched for something unimportant to delete. A sense of defeat swept through him as he realized he couldn't find anything. Everything they had to do in the next nine months served a vital purpose to their work. It was like their schedules were trying to sabotage their relationship.

"Wow." He muttered under his breath as he removed his hands from the keyboard and ran one through his hair.

Vanessa chewed her bottom lip. "I know," was all she could whisper as she closed the screen in sad manner. "And the most pathetic part is we can't even schedule enough time to see each other in person so we can break up. I mean, wait, are you okay?"

Josh swallowed the lump of sandwich he had almost choked up when he heard her talk about breaking up. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He took a swig of water. "Why would you guys need to break up?"

Vanessa sighed. "Well, I don't mean break up _per say_. But, maybe a break. I don't know, maybe if we were getting better at this distance thing instead of getting worse at it I would feel differently about this whole situation," she slumped her shoulders as she fiddled with a strand of hair. "I mean, we used to go out of our way to do these cute romantic things for each other when we were apart. We would write letters, send packages…" she couldn't help the smile that quietly surpassed her sadness momentarily. "Just do all these things that would bridge the gap, you know? And now," her smile instantly dropped. "We just don't. I don't want to think it's because we don't care as much about our relationship as we used to, because I know that if anything, I care _more_ about it now than back then." Her eyes suddenly stung and glazed over. "But does he? Does he not care enough to do those little things anymore? Am I crazy to think that he's starting to give up on us? Am I not enough for him…?" he voice trailed off into a whisper as she realized she was more asking herself these questions than Josh.

"Vanessa, hey." Josh swallowed the last of his sandwich. "I guarantee you that you're _more_ than enough for him. And I guarantee you that he hasn't given up on your relationship."

Vanessa peered at her co-star through the blurriness from her tears threatening to spill. "How can you be so certain but I can't?"

Josh shrugged. "You're just feeling a little sad right now. Have faith in love, Vanessa. It's on this planet to bring you happiness," he watched a tear roll down her cheek. "Not tears."

Vanessa inhaled and exhaled once slowly before nodding her head. "You're right." She picked up her phone and hopped off her chair. "You're quite full of wisdom for your young age." She joked, wrapping her arms around him as he hopped off his chair as well. "Thank you," she whispered as she pulled back from the hug. "I don't know what I would do without you right now."

Josh smiled. "No problem."

Vanessa fiddled with her phone. "I think I'm going to go call him."

* * *

"It's taken all my willpower not to call her."

Zac rolled up a pair of boxer shorts and tossed them in his suitcase. He checked his watch for the third time that minute. He had fifteen minutes.

"Then call her!" His good friend, Jay, picked up Zac's phone off his bed. "Oh wait, she's already calling you right now." He tossed the phone to Zac, who widened his eyes and threw his phone across the room as soon as it came in contact with his skin.

"What the hell?" Jay was stunned as Zac continued packing. "Do you realize that you just threw your very expensive iPhone across the room?"

Zac briefly looked at his friend. "Yes, I am aware. Are you aware of how much it's been killing me that I've barely talked to her over the past two weeks?"

Jay scoffed. "Dude, that's your own fault for wanting her to be more surprised when you visited her today by basically neglecting her for all this time." He walked across Zac's room and picked up his phone. "I wouldn't be surprised if she dumped your sorry ass. I mean I'm a _guy_ and I'm kind of pissed at you for only sending a lame 'Happy Valentine's Day' text to her this morning. I mean dude, you could've called her."

Zac shook his head. "I would've cracked. Just the sound of her voice would've made me tell her my plans for today."

Jay just chuckled and shook his head as his eyes caught the light on Zac's phone screen, indicating he had received a text message. He read it quickly. "Uh-oh."

Zac looked up as he zipped his suitcase closed. "Uh-oh what? A scratch?"

Jay shook his head. "No, I think you would've preferred a scratch over this." He tossed his phone to Zac, and this time, he caught it. He read the words on the screen before cursing.

"Shit." He read the text one more time. "The four words you don't want to hear in a relationship." Zac buried his face in his hands. "This was a bad idea, wasn't it?"

Jay clicked his tongue. "Well, _I_ think so... I mean not even one phone call man?"

Zac grunted. "I should've at least called her _today _of all days, Valentine's Day. God, me and my stupid plans. I thought I was going to be all romantic and shit when I showed up to North Carolina after not being in much contact with her, but now thinking about it, I bet she's not even going to want to talk to me. Hell, she'll probably be off on some date with her co-star, Josh!"

Jay sighed. "Hey. Don't beat yourself up over this. Just get your butt on that plane, go to North Carolina, apologize your ass off for ignoring her for so long, and pray she forgives you."

Zac stood up. "Yeah, you're right." In one swift movement he picked up his suitcase and threw on his jacket. "Thanks, man."

Jay smiled and patted his shoulder. "Go get your girl."

**

* * *

**

Zac toyed with his phone on the car ride to the airport. He read her text to him again, his heart sinking each time.

**Hey, um, I don't know what's really happened to us lately, but I think we need to talk.**

What was he supposed to respond to that? _I agree, just wait until I get to North Carolina so you can break up with me because I'm an idiot?_ He groaned, putting his head against the wheel as he came to a red light. His plan had seemed so fool-proof a few weeks ago when he first conjured it. He would talk to her less and less in the days leading up to Valentine's Day to throw her off a little bit. He would then fly to North Carolina to surprise her and assure her everything was okay. But Zac was now realizing that it would be pretty hard to assure someone that everything was okay if they wouldn't want to talk to him in the first place.

**

* * *

**

"All I want to do is talk to him, you know? Ask him why he's almost been…avoiding me these past couple days. What did I do wrong?" Vanessa looked up to the sky, noticing the sun was starting to fall behind the horizon. Evening was slowly coming, which meant she would try to call him again.

Josh shrugged. "I don't think it's you, Vanessa. I honestly think he's just busy."

Vanessa furrowed her brow. "Yeah I would like to believe that," her voice was low as she grabbed her phone. "I'm going to try to call him _one_ more time, and if he doesn't answer or call me back or anything, mark my words Josh; I'm hopping on a plane and hunting that boy down."

Josh chuckled as he tapped Vanessa's shoulder before she dialed Zac's number.

"What, Josh?"

Josh smiled. "We need to go film now. Call him later."

Vanessa glowered. "Alright. Man, this has been a crappy Valentine's Day."

Josh nodded his head. "I don't blame you for thinking that. But I mean it's not over yet. Actually…" he turned to his bag and dug through it for a moment, coming up with a box of chocolates. "Happy Valentine's Day, Vanessa."

Vanessa put her hand to her chest and gasped at the box of Lindor chocolates held out for her. It was such a kind gesture to someone who had spent the whole day listening to her complains about her relationship problems. Josh was truly a nice guy, and was transforming into one of her best friends. She broke out into a grin as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Josh. You don't know how much this means to me right now."

Josh grinned back at her as they pulled away. "You deserve to have _some_ kind of happiness on Valentine's Day, even if it just comes from a friend and not a boyfriend. I know I can't measure up to Zac, but-"

Vanessa interrupted. "No, this is just wonderful. I _love_ chocolate!"

Josh chuckled. "Well, that's good! But let's go film this last scene for today and then you can start digging in."

Vanessa smiled and nodded, heading back over to the cameras with Josh. No, her fears about her relationship with Zac hadn't left, but a sense of happiness washed through her. She didn't know how long the happiness would be able to sustain itself before succumbing to the bitter feelings about her relationship once more, but for that moment she felt happy; a feeling she hadn't felt in two weeks.

* * *

Zac's legs bounced rhythmically as he sat in the taxi on the way to Vanessa's movie set. At a time like this, his legs usually fidgeted with excitement, but this time he knew it was anxiety that kept them moving. His eyes flickered to the bouquet of lilies and roses he had delicately placed on the seat beside him, along with a stuffed bear that held a heart reading: 5 years of love. He knew it was cheesy, but he had seen it at Hallmarka few days prior and decided that cheesiness was perfect. He also had a box of chocolates packed away in his suitcase that he would give to her later.

The taxi driver indicated to Zac that he had about ten minutes left before they reached their destination, so Zac decided to close his eyes and catch up on some much-needed sleep. But before he let himself drift from the state of consciousness into slumber, his mind wandered to what he and Vanessa _would_ have done for Valentine's Day if they were both home. The day would have started with her in his arms, her body warmth radiating him. He would wake her up by whispering in her ear. Her eyes would flutter open and his heart would immediately start beating faster as their orbs connected. Throughout the day he would take every chance possible to tell her how much he loved her and how thankful he was to have her in his life. They would spend the day doing nothing but being together. Of course he would shower her with presents that she would bashfully accept, but nothing extravagant would proceed. Just being with each other would be sufficed. And then as the night slowly fell upon them, they would end the day the same way they started; entangled in each other, the sound of their hearts beating together.

"Sir, wake up. We're here."

Zac's head snapped up. He rubbed his eyes as butterflies grew prominent in his uneasy stomach. It was time. He thanked and payed the taxi driver, grabbed his bags, and was off. His legs shook as he made his way to the set. The sky was dark, but he knew he was close when he saw a bunch of lights and smelt the stench of cameramen who had been working hard all day. And he knew he was even _closer_ when he heard her majestic, musical laugh. Chills rushed through him as he turned the corner, and there she was. About fifty feet away and her back turned to him, there she was. He dropped his suitcase and carefully held the flowers and stuffed bear as he walked towards her. He realized that she was chatting with some of her cast mates as he approached closer. Maybe it was a bad time. He started to slow down his pace as he realized he probably shouldn't be visiting her on set. She was working and needed to stay in character.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself. Well, it was too late to turn back. His heart pounded like a drum as he noticed the shadowy figures of her cast mates walk away from her, leaving her standing alone. It was his perfect moment. His feet picked up movement and in a matter of seconds, he was standing almost right behind her. He tapped her shoulder, a feeling of electricity coursing through his veins in the fraction of time their skin came in contact. He watched her jump at his touch and spin around.

"Zac?"

He noticed that her voice sounded more as a question than a statement.

"Hey, baby."

In the darkness of the night, he couldn't decipher her expression. All he knew was that in one moment, he was holding flowers and a teddy bear, and in the next he was holding her.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice contained burning emotion that Zac picked up on without having or needing to look at her. His grip tightened on her until he was certain he was squishing her. She didn't protest.

He didn't bother answering her question. He knew what he had to say before anything else. "Happy Valentine's Day, Vanessa." Zac pulled her back slightly so he could stare at her face. "I love you." He expressed the words whole-heartedly and lovingly. Vanessa knew he meant them. She buried her face in his shoulder as he picked her up and spun her around.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" She breathed in his familiar scent and instantly felt at home.

Zac set her down and pulled her chin up so their lips were inches apart. "I missed you more." He kissed her with a building passion, the warm feeling of her lips making his senses tickle. They were slightly breathless when they parted.

"Why didn't you ever answer my calls?" Vanessa asked, her voice dropping.

Zac sighed, noticing the sadness in her features through the darkness. "Mostly because I'm stupid." He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger and kissed her forehead. "I'll explain more later. I'm sure you've got to get back to filming."

Vanessa shook her head. "Nope, we actually just finished." She didn't smile as she awkwardly asked her next question: "Um, you got my text from earlier today, right?"

Zac froze. Oh yeah, the text. "Uh, yeah, I did. Ness, I really-"

Vanessa pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh. Let's talk about this when we get to the hotel, okay?"

Zac nodded, suddenly feeling uneasy. "Okay," he whispered, almost inaudible.

**

* * *

**

"So after about the seventh phone call you didn't answer, I got to wondering: what did I do wrong?" Vanessa looked down at their intertwined fingers as they sat on the hotel room bed.

Zac sighed. "Alright, here's the deal. It killed me not to answer your phone calls. And this morning, Jay made me feel _more_ horrible than I already felt for only sending you a lame Happy Valentine's Day Text."

"I miss Jay." Vanessa hummed thoughtfully. Zac continued.

"Anyways," Zac rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles. "I knew that if I called you, I would crack." He chuckled grimly. "The second I heard your voice I would've ruined your surprise."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "So that's why? Not because you hate me?"

Zac widened his eye in a horrified manner. "What? No! If anything, I was afraid _you _were going to hate _me_."

Vanessa mirrored his shocked expression. "_Me_ hate _you_?" She chuckled at how silly they were both being. "That'll never happen."

Zac smiled. "Likewise." He leaned in and kissed her, parting his lips slightly to catch a taste. When they parted, he spoke again. "There's also something else that I need to tell you that I haven't told anyone else."

Vanessa noticed the sudden smile he was fighting to break. "Okay, go ahead."

"Well, I know we've been kind of stressed out about our schedules completely clashing for the year, because it would be a humongous risk and test in our relationship. I get sad just _thinking _about not seeing you for months on end. So, I decided to do something about it."

Vanessa furrowed her brow. "Zac, what are you talking about?"

Zac placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her down to his chest. "Do you hear my heart beating right now?"

Vanessa smiled. "Yeah."

"Well," He kissed her hair. "I only have that beating heart when you're with me. And I don't know about you, but I can't live without this heart for nine months."

Vanessa blushed. "Am I your heart?" she asked quietly, feeling Zac's chuckles erupt from his chest.

"Yes, you are my dear. You _have _my heart, you _are _my heart," he bent his head down to brush his lips across her cheek. "This brings me to my news I have for you. I dropped out of Art of Steal."

Vanessa gasped, adjusting her position so their eyes could meet. "What?"

Zac widened his eyes. "Are you mad?"

"I…uh…wh…what?"

Zac chortled at his flabbergasted girlfriend. "Ness, I think it's best for us. I mean-"

Vanessa held up her index finger, her eyes in deep thought. "Wait a minute. You were scheduled to film Art of Steal at the same time I was going to be around the world promoting Sucker Punch and Beastly, right?"

Zac nodded.

Vanessa raised her eyebrows. "So…does that mean…" she broke out into a smile as realization hit her. Zac would be travelling around the world with her. They would have more time together.

Zac smiled even larger as he watched her eyes light up. He interlaced their fingers and leaned his forehead against hers. "That means that if you'll have me, I'm going to be coming around the world with you."

Vanessa squealed in delight, nuzzling their noses together. "Of _course_ I'll have you! Oh this is going to be so great!" She connected their lips, all of her worries from the past couple weeks dissipating. Zac smiled as he deepened the kiss, knotting his fingers through her hair. When they parted for air, he felt her sweet breath as she spoke.

"Are you sure about giving up this movie, though? I mean it could be a really great thing for your career…"

Zac put his finger to her lips. "Ness. Believe me, other movies will come. The timing of this one was all wrong, and if I had to choose between a stupid movie and my beautiful, wonderful, sexy, girlfriend, the winner is pretty easy." He winked as he kissed her once more. "Happy Valentine's Day, Vanessa." he mumbled against her lips. He pulled back to stare lovingly into her eyes, which had become watery. "Oh, I have a few gifts for you!"

Vanessa smiled. "Just the fact that you're here right now is more than enough."

Zac slid off the bed and dug through his suitcase, but not without his eye catching the box of chocolates already sitting on the other bed.

"Who gave you those?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"Josh. He was just trying to be nice, don't worry."

Zac nodded his head. No, he didn't feel jealous. It just felt weird for some other guy to give _his_ girl a Valentine's Day present. But whatever weird feeling was biting at him disappeared when he saw her face as he pulled out her flowers, stuffed animal, and box of chocolates.

"Oh my gosh," she chuckled as he handed her the stuffed animal. "This is so adorable." She accepted the flowers and took a nice whiff of them, and also took his box of chocolates for her. "Thank you, babe." She wrapped her arms around him as he moved back to the bed.

Zac smiled warmly as he responded. "Thank _you_ for being in my life. I love you more than you'll ever know." His eyes were soft and full of love as he spoke the true and special words.

Vanessa felt her eyes getting watery again. "I love you, too. This has been the best Valentine's Day ever!" She happily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down onto the bed so their bodies were lying on each other. A few mere hours ago, Vanessa was losing hope in their relationship. But now as she stared into Zac's burning blue eyes, feeling his heart beating in time with hers, she knew she had nothing to fear. Zac had never given up on their love, and he never would.

**Woo hoo, cheesy endings! Thanks for reading! **


End file.
